Pepe Smith goes to rock ’n roll heaven

I do not think anybody could say or I should say, “Rock ‘n roll to the world,” the way Pepe Smith did. In his case, the greeting came off like a celebration led by a true rock star.

The Ichabod Crane frame, gangly extremities, guttural vocals and penetrating stare combined to create the rocker image Filipino musicians aspire to in Pepe. He also lived the life we believe true rockers do.

Not an easy one. It was not the kind that met approval from conventional society. But oh, foes and oh, friends, it gave off such a lovely, heady light with sounds to match. And Pepe did live the rock life, fast and hard, all of his 71 years until the morning of Jan. 28.

Pepe was born Joseph Feliciano Smith on Dec. 25, 1947 in Angeles, Pampanga, to Conchita Feliciano and Edgar William Smith, an American serviceman stationed at the old Clark Air Base. His parents separated when he was eight years old and his mother died of hepatitis not long after.

Pepe and his brother Raymond were taken in by their grandmother who lived in Kamuning, Quezon City. There he discovered rock ‘n roll. It was an instant, perfect fit and he was drummer and frontman of his own band by the time he was 11 years old. At 18, he got his first gig abroad for a good six months in Vietnam.

This was followed by his first high-profile stint as lead vocalist of the band Eddie Reyes and the Downbeats. With his impressive height and mestizo good looks, Pepe, known then as Joey Smith, became one of the country’s early rock ‘n roll idols.

The Downbeats had a reputation for being one of the best and was the highest-paid foreign band in Hong Kong at the time. The group was even drafted to open for the Beatles during the Fab Four’s Rizal Memorial concert.

Pepe next joined the Japanese rock band Speed, Glue & Shinki but while the money was good and his future as a musician looked promising abroad, he opted to come home and be a rocker here.

It was in 1970 when he joined the local rock group that called itself the Juan dela Cruz Band and which included guitarists Mike Hanopol and Wally Gonzales. And that was when the Pepe Smith, who would become a legend, was born.

The name Juan dela Cruz stands for the common Filipino man. Mike and Wally wanted to distance themselves from the local rock scene that was then dominated by imitations of foreign bands. They wanted to be truly Filipino and, if possible, to perform only their own originals. But they were having a hard time converting audiences.

Pepe, the Amboy from Clark, readily agreed and it was not long after that that he came to be called Pepe. You know, Pepe is the nickname for boys named Jose in the Philippines and since he was in the Filipino Juan dela Cruz Band, friends started calling himself Pepe just like Jose Rizal.

The going was hard. Local radio was not receptive to Filipino rock music. Parents kept their children away from rock concerts that they considered excuses for loose sex and drugs. Whatever following the band had was loyal but rather small.

But Pepe, Mike and Wally persisted, recording their compositions and coming out with their own albums which nobody seemed interested in. That is, save for one. The independent label Vicor Music Corp., picked up the band and head honcho Vic del Rosario Jr. kept the group recording in the studio despite the meager sales of their albums.

One of these included Pepe’s composition Himig Natin that would become the anthem of Pinoy Rock. Legend has it that Pepe was backstage parked on the toilet seat of the ladies’ bathroom when he started strumming his guitar. “Ang himig natin, ang ating awitin...”

The song simmered its way into the subconscious of Pinoy music lovers. Not a monster hit initially but no doubt important. Pepe has composed a true Pilipino rock song and unknowingly created the genre we now know as Pinoy rock.

Mike and Wally rose to the occasion and soon rock joints, jukeboxes and even high-society parties were rocking to the music of the Juan dela Cruz triumvirate. And songs like Beep Beep, Balong Malalim, Titser’s Enemy No. 1, No Touch, Panahon, Maskara, Nadapa Sa Arina and others, forever changed the course of Pilipino music.

The Hotdog, Eraserheads, Rivermaya, Parokya Ni Edgar, Itchyworms, IV of Spades, etc. etc., all of these rock bands derived inspiration from and owe their existence to the Juan dela Cruz Band and, in particular, to Pepe and his Himig Natin.

That thought should make Pepe smile and once again intone his favorite phrase “Rock ‘n roll to the world,” this time with Heaven’s pantheon of rock heroes joining him.